1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an art which provides various services using a portable device (cell phone, PDA, or the like) by attaching an IC card including an IC module to the portable device or by allowing the portable device to incorporate an IC module that realizes an IC card function. Here, an IC module is a module that is composed of one or a plurality of IC chips. The IC module comprises a processor and a memory and realizes a certain function by the processor executing a program stored in the memory, but is not limited to any specific structure.
2. Background
Recently, an art that allows providing various services via contactless communication using an IC card is under study. In such an art, a service terminal comprising an IC card reader/writer is located at a certain place like vending machines, check-out counters at stores or the like, entrances and exits of transportation facilities such as ticket gates at stations, entrances and exits of event venues such as concerts, gates of offices and factories, or the like. And then, the service terminal does contactless communication with the IC card put over by a user so as to provide a service such as e-money transactions, bonus point services accompanying purchase of products or the like, fare adjustment at transportation facilities, entry processes by e-ticket, management of entry/exit or attendance record, or various other services.
An IC module mounted on an IC card comprises a processor such as CPU or MPU that executes logical operation and arithmetic operation and a memory such as ROM, RAM, or EEPROM that stores programs and data. And an IC card for contactless communication further comprises a contactless communication interface that enables contactless communication with a reader/writer. The IC module for the IC card is configured such that programs and important data are concealed in an IC chip and important information as well as a key or logic to access that information cannot be seen by an unauthorized device. Therefore, the IC module can store important information and can process cryptography inside the module.
And recently, a memory mounted on an IC card is becoming larger in capacity and can store a plurality of applications at the same time, so that a user can use a plurality of services with just one IC card. In this way, for example, if two or more applications such as a pre-paid train ticket to get on and off a certain train and an e-ticket to enter a certain concert venue are stored in one IC card, a user can use various services with that one IC card without bothering to pull out different IC cards for each service.
Furthermore, by including a contact communication interface to connect with an external device in addition to a contactless communication interface with a reader/writer, an IC card mounted with an IC module can be used connected with a portable device such as a cell phone, PDA, or the like. Such a portable device connected with an IC card becomes a portable device mounted with an IC module. Alternatively, by incorporating an IC module itself into a portable device (In this case, too, an IC module and other parts of the portable device can be regarded as being connected with each other via a contact communication interface), a portable device mounted with an IC module can be realized.
Japanese published patent application No. 2003-125043 discloses an art to use various e-commerce services using a cell phone mounted with an e-commerce module. Particularly, it describes as follows about a request for a user to input a password with a keypad of the cell phone during the dealing. In the art, a user is allowed to change the setting of whether an input of a password is required or not so that an input of a password is required when the cell phone mounted with the e-commerce module is used as an e-money during shopping, but an input of a password is not required when it is used as a commuter pass to go to office (or school) at a ticket gate of a station. In addition, when it is set not to require an input of a password, lighting an indicating lamp of the cell phone allows a user to recognize the setting status.
Here, one of the great advantages of a contactless type IC card is that it allows an execution of a process by simply touching and going (“touch and go”) through the service terminal. Therefore, it is highly likely that many password-free applications will also be used for a portable device mounted with a contactless type IC module.
However, in the above-mentioned art of Japanese published patent application No. 2003-125043, a user can know by an indication lamp lighting that the setting is set as password-free, but he/she can never know what kind of process was actually executed when he/she used a password-free service. There is a possibility that a service terminal display would show the details and result of the process. However, when a speed of the “touch and go” process is required, a user will have difficulty in reading information on the display accurately as he/she passes by the service terminal by putting an IC-module-mounted portable device over the reader/writer.